Meeting the past
by lrigD
Summary: Sequel to 'Touch'. The team knows now and they support her. But what happens when past and present meet again?
1. Chapter 1

**_So, here's the promised sequel.  
For those who don't know: this story is the sequel to 'Touch'. 'Touch' is a crossover between Higher Ground and Criminal Minds. Now, not everyone knows either of those so I'll say that I made JJ, who's a character of CM, have the past of Shelby, who's a character from HG. Shelby was abused by her stepfather and eventually ran away, only to end up as a prostitute on the streets. She ended up at Horizon, a school for troubled teens and basically what Higher Ground was about. That's pretty crucial to understanding this story, so I suggest you either read 'Touch' first or read about Higher Ground, though I suggest the first (and not just because I want reviews! Lol). In 'Touch', eventually the entire team knows bits and parts of JJ's past, some more than others._**

This story is set a couple of months later, I think, I haven't really thought about that... It's pretty short because I felt it was a good time to stop...  
Enjoy! And review, please :)

* * *

Jennifer Jareau wasn't a woman who was easily sickened. Indeed, in her job it came quite in handy not to be squeamish when it came to cruel sights. But the scene in front of her was enough to make her stomach turn.

Seven bodies were piled up on each other, almost meticulously, as if it were some work of art. The smell was horrible. That depressing smell of death, of decomposing bodies, a smell she'd hoped to only encounter once or twice in her career, that she knew would follow her around for a long time to come.

It wasn't hard to see the state the bodies were in, either, despite the decomposition. She could clearly see the cuts in the rotting flesh. Not being able to tear her eyes away from the view, she stumbled backwards, up the stairs, until she turned at the door and went out of that horrible basement.

A police officer looked at her, surprised to see the usually cool media liaison so unstable now.

"They're in there," she managed to say before she stumbled outside. She needed fresh air.

Once she was outside, she took deep breaths of cool air to steady her stomach.

She was used to gruesome sights: she encountered them many times. But that was usually on photos. JJ hadn't gone out into the field very often: it was only that the New Orleans Police Department lacked officers that she'd been sent into the field too.

And why New Orleans? A city struck with grief after the storm; why would anyone choose to cause even more pain? Hadn't the people had enough to deal with already?

JJ had been in the city for a couple of days already. She had seen the devastation caused by Katrina, seen the help from the government the city lacked. Seen the way the city had to depend on civilians, people like themselves, to build up their lives again.

At least she could give some of the families some consolation now. Or whatever you'd call consolation… Several people were still missing, and nobody was sure whether it was from the storm or the work of the unsub. Now at least they knew who was dead, if they managed to get identification from the bodies, that was.

Sighing, taking one last deep breath, she turned to get back inside the house. She needed to collect herself to be able to give a good press conference when their work was done. They hadn't caught the bastard yet, but knowing where the bodies were certainly made it easier.

It had been a small operation, only Morgan, JJ and a New Orleanean police offer had checked out this house: as one of the many possible storage places, the team had split up.

JJ instinctively knew it wouldn't be smart to broadcast this particular find. Not only would it stir up the people, possibly causing mass hysterics, but they might still be able to use this place to catch the unsub.

Morgan was rushing out and, looking back into the basement, JJ decided to follow him instead of going back to that place. She turned around again and moved till she stood next to Morgan, overlooking the street.

"I called the others," Morgan let her know, his voice wavering only a little bit. JJ simple nodded, grateful for that piece of work he took from her.

"It's… damn!" Morgan yelled, his frustrations coming out. "That bastard… and _here_ of all places…"

JJ knew what he meant. They were in the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the poorest places of town, the neighbourhood affected worst by the flood. A good place to hide bodies, since many families had not moved back and were probably never going to.

Across the street, she could see a small boy playing with a ball. He saw them and looked up at them, smiling. It amazed her to see how _happy_ these people could still be.

"Hotch said we can go back to the hotel," Morgan interrupted her thoughts. "He'll set up a group to watch here in case the unsub comes back."

JJ nodded again gratefully. Though their hotel wasn't great, with crotchety beds and showers that went cold if you were the unfortunate one to be last. Still, it was okay to some of the other places they'd visited. And it was in the centre, which she greatly enjoyed, since there was such a great atmosphere. It was laced with sadness and loss, but it was as if the New Orleaneans were determined to enjoy themselves.

All in all, she really liked this city, though the reason why she was here sucked. But she definitely planned on going back someday, to help and to enjoy the general feeling of together-ness.

Blinking, surprised by the direction her thoughts had gone to, she sat down in the passenger's seat of the black SUV and they drove back to North Rampart Street, where their hotel was.

There wasn't too much to do, but JJ was quite intent on just sleeping for a while. She was tired from all the thoughts that had been going through her mind, and sleeping would definitely be a good remedy to get those images out of her head. Though they would probably provide her with nightmares, at least she'd get some sleep.

While waiting in front of a traffic light, Morgan turned his head to her and looked at her, taking in her face to determine her mental state. The crime scene they'd just seen was more gruesome than usual and he wanted to make sure she'd be alright. He knew she would be – he knew exactly what it was like to have the pictures stuck in your mind. He just wanted her to know that.

"Stop staring at me," she suddenly snapped, and he blinked surprised, but continued staring.

He saw a small smile appear on her face, telling him she wasn't that annoyed.

"Whatever the lady wants," he said graciously, determined to make her mood lift, if even a bit.

"That's right," JJ continued, grinning. "Finally, a man who's chauvinistic enough to admit it!"

It was nonsense, this conversation, but at the moment it was just what they needed. The levity might just be the thing to ensure a good night's sleep, not interrupted by nightmares.

The traffic lights turned green again and Morgan sped. They drove in silence until they arrived at the hotel. He parked the car and, getting out, noticed that JJ was staring at a man who was collecting the garbage.

"He your type?" he asked her jokingly. The man was at least fifty, with a pale complex. To Morgan, he somewhat resembled a rat.

JJ simply shook her head and turned around to Morgan. "Let's go," she muttered.

He nodded and followed her, eyeing the man suspiciously as he did so.

"I'm just gonna go try get some sleep," JJ said to him as soon as they reached their rooms.

Morgan nodded again. "Sleep well," he told her, and he watched her as she closed the door behind her.

This was what she did, he knew that. JJ shielded herself against such things, she didn't talk about it, tried not to show any discomfort over it. Yet, lately, with everything they'd found out about her, he found himself worrying about her more and more. She was vulnerable right now, she needed someone to hold onto and as far as he knew, she didn't really have that person. Everyone in the team supported her, and they'd always be there for her, but she didn't have that one special person in her life. Not yet, anyway.

Not that it was him. He'd had his eyes set on someone else and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. So until JJ had that special one, he was going to look after her, keep an eye on her just to make sure she was alright, just to make sure she knew that people cared for her.

* * *

**_Yeah, how could I visit New Orleans and not write about it?  
I agree with everything I've said about NO in this chapter. I LOVE that city. Don't take that the wrong way because of Katrina, but the spirit and overall feeling there is just great. I've hardly ever experienced it before.  
And another thing: Talk about coincidence! So, one afternoon I was writing on this story, in particular the part where JJ and Morgan are heading to the hotel. In the evening, I watch Bones (which is one of my new fave shows), and guess where one of the episodes takes place? Yup, you guessed it! And guess what else? This one might be a bit harder, but the hotel room Bones (=main person) stayed in looked suspiciously much like the one I'd stayed in! It wasn't the one, of course (though in this story I did use that hotel - on N Rampart Street).But how cool is that! I mean, I've never had that before. Sometimes something I recognized was on the news (Dutch news then), but that was just local. This is AMERICA we're talking about. Like halfway across the world. And I recognized places. I was so excited after that...!  
I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but this is getting ridiculously long, so I'll suffice with saying please review!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_So, the next chapter. I know it took me really long to publish this, but it's December. That's my month of parties... birthdays, balls, Sinterklaas, Christmas... A celebration heaven, lol._**

**_Anyway. Thank you for all the reviews! I can't think of much else to say now, so instead of making a mile-long Author's Notes like I usually do, just read the story and please review xD_**

* * *

"JJ, we're leaving for dinner!" JJ rolled around in her bed at the cheerful voice. She wanted to sleep; she'd been having such a wonderful dream…

_She was sitting on the pier, her feet in the water, looking out over the lake peacefully. It was a warm night. The moon was clearly visible over her head, a round white shape that seemed to glow.  
__She wanted to stay here. It was nice, peaceful and quiet. No problems, nothing to think about but the lake in front of her.__She started when she felt two hands on her shoulders._

"_Hey, Shel," Scott said cheerfully, and she turned around to give him a quick peck._

"_Hi," she answered him, smiling as he sat down next to her._

"_What're you thinking about?" he asked her, and she shrugged nonchalantly. _

"_Nothing," she finally said, looking ahead of her. _

"_Okay," he said, nodding. He grasped her hand and together they sat there. _

"_You know I love you, right?" Scott suddenly spoke. She looked at him surprised; where had that come from?_

"_I know," she confirmed. "You told me." She paused for a second. "I love you too."_

_He smiled broadly and leaned in for a kiss, which she gave to him, enjoying the soft feel of his lips against hers. _

"I'm coming," she grumbled when Garcia called her again. Opening her eyes, she saw the bright colours of the tech girl right in front of her face. Surprised by the proximity, she sat up straight and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Seven pm," Garcia told her. "It's getting dark honey; you slept for quite a while."

Standing up, JJ swayed a little as her stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry," she concluded, surprised.

"Well, that's why we'll get dinner," Garcia said, grinning at her barely-awake friend. "Do I need to wake you up with anything?"

"No, I'm fine," she said quickly, standing up properly and looking around for her shoes. Garcia's waking-up methods were well known, and not something she wanted to encounter unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Okay, then. We're going to get some delicious jambalaya!"

JJ grinned. Garcia turned out to be a fervid fan of the typical New Orleans food, and she'd been dragging JJ along every night to find some nice place to eat the Creole dishes.

They all went out to dinner together, so that if they were called they were already assembled.

Soon the team was talking about music, determined to avoid the current case.

"See, this kind of music-" Reid indicated the speakers above him "-is what I like. Did you know that skilled jazz performers never play the same composition exactly the same? Depending upon the performer's mood and personal experience, interactions with fellow musicians, or even members of the audience, a jazz musician may alter melodies, harmonies or time signature at will. It is believed to be the result of the origin of jazz, where-"

"Enough, kid," Morgan said, laughing. "We didn't come here for a lecture on jazz. I don't even like it anyway."

"Let me guess," Emily said. "Pop, dance, R&B… hip hop," she said after a pause.

"Well, yeah," Morgan grinned. "I mean, who doesn't like the rhyth,?"

"Yeah well, you can dance on it," Emily said. "And you're pretty good," she said, winking.

JJ looked at Emily surprised. It almost sounded as if she was flirting… was she? But nobody else seemed to have noticed, so JJ said nothing about it.

"I like those too," she said, earning some looks from her colleagues. "What? I can party," she continued.

"We're gonna go clubbing some day, you know," Morgan told her, and Emily nodded.

"Sure," JJ shrugged. "I haven't said I'm any _good_ at it…" she trailed off.

"We'll be the judge of that, Jay," Morgan said grinning.

Their conversation dragged on lightly. JJ found herself beginning to lose interest as the guys starting talking about some new basketball player. Basketball had never been her choice of sports.

The dream JJ had had still lingered in her mind. She had dreamt of Peter, Daisy, Scott, even David, ever since she'd moved away from that place. It had become less after a couple of years, when her job began to consume most of her time. She had only gotten the occasional dream, and it had been mostly vague. But now they were coming back again, as well as the other nightmares. The ones she'd had before.

She thought she was healing. She thought she was in the process of moving on, letting go of her past in order to survive the present. And yet she still got the dreams.

Not that she hadn't enjoyed this one. After dreams like that she only realized how much she missed them, Scott in particular. They hadn't officially broken up, just moved away from each other as they both had realized it wouldn't end like they wanted it to end. She could not deny she'd wanted more, nor that she still thought about him. But going back to him, meeting again – it was a scary prospect. She had a new life now, one she'd been having for a while now. Was she ready to let those two worlds collide again?

"JJ, what do you think?"

She shot up as if she had just been woken up. "What?"

"Wow, you were far away," Emily laughed. "Where were you?"

_A better place__,_ she thought but she didn't say it. "Just thinking," she said instead. "What were you asking me?"

"Is rap a music genre or not?"

"It is," she said immediately, trying to get her mind off Scott. "Just a different one."

"Hah!" Morgan said triumphantly. "Looks like you lost girl," he continued, indicating Emily.

"I did not lose," Emily said undignified. "It's an opinion."

"Sure it is," Morgan said patronizingly.

"It is! Jeez Morgan, I thought you were fair…" Emily said mockingly.

"Well don't judge before you know me," Morgan grinned.

"Then maybe I should get to know you," Emily retorted suggestively.

JJ looked back and forth between her colleagues. Everyone else had disappeared, she had no idea where to. Maybe the conversation, turned to music again, bored them, maybe they had other things to do. In any case, it was just Morgan, Emily and her now. And Emily sure looked like she was taking advantage of that situation. The atmosphere was just too flirty for it _not_ to be coincidental.

JJ was torn between staying her and making sure nothing happened, or leave and let them have some fun. She was definitely going to talk to her friend later, because she had never even suspected this.

She compromised by excusing herself to go to the bathroom. She really did need to go, anyway.

When she returned, she was surprised to see Emily and Morgan still at their table. She picked up on the mood immediately when she sat back down, the tension was definitely there.

"We've been finished with dinner for half an hour now. Why are we still here?" she asked, trying to ease the tension.

"Guess we lost track of time talking," Morgan said, looking at Emily as he said so. "It's time we go, anyway. The others will think we've been abducted or something, if we stay away for so long."

"Why'd they leave, anyway?" JJ asked, frowning.

"You didn't even notice, did you?" Morgan teased. "Reid got a hunch; they wanted to check it out before he lost it again."

JJ nodded, accepting the explanation. "Let's go," she said.

Emily and Morgan both nodded and stood, sobered up by JJ's seriousness. They paid and left the restaurant.

It was already dark outside, but it seemed like the city never slept. Bright lights were everywhere and it wasn't silent in the least.

Crossing the infamous Bourbon Street, JJ was once again gripped by the feeling of the city. She really wanted to go back here someday.

"What about we do that clubbing here," she shouted in Morgan's direction, trying to overcome to noise on the streets. "I kinda like it."

Morgan looked surprised, but nodded. "If the case is over," he confirmed.

They walked the rest of the way back to the hotel in silence, all lost in their own thoughts.

Reaching the hotel, they found the rest of the team sitting in the patio, talking. It seemed they had already checked out the hunch: judging by the mood, it had been a good idea, but there was nothing they could do at this moment.

"So how did it work out?" Morgan asked, looking from one to another.

"Garcia is going through the files right now," Reid said from his place at the back of the patio.

"What was the plan?" JJ whispered to Emily, who was standing next to her.

"Missed it, huh?" Emily grinned. JJ gave her one of her famous don't-toy-with-me glares, and Emily hastily backed off.

"Unsub might be killing because someone close to him died, probably due to Katrina. They got Garcia looking for any males who fit the profile who lost someone in the storm."

"There'll be a lot of them," JJ mused.

"Yeah, which is why we pinned it down to a Lower Ninth Ward resident, seeing as the storage place was in that neighbourhood."

JJ nodded in agreement. "And they had to leave for that?"

"Apparently," Emily nodded. "What's it to you, anyway?"

"Nothing, just curious," she said hastily. "Guess I'm a little disoriented."

"Right," Emily said. She was about to continue when Hotch called her, and with a quick smile she disappeared.

JJ looked around, seeing everyone around her engaged in conversation. She looked around once more before signalling to Morgan that she was going upstairs, then walked the stairs to her and Emily's room.

The dream had affected her more than she was willing to admit. She'd been having these dreams about Scott every now and then, yet this one somehow seemed more significant. This one had been strong enough to defeat the nightmare that had been hiding around the corner.

She truly did not know what her mind tried to tell her. Well, maybe she knew, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

They wouldn't want to see her; she'd left without a note, without a call, just left. Disappeared into nothingness. She couldn't expect –

"Hey JJ, are you okay?" Emily walked into the room worriedly, interrupting her thoughts. Emily'd been checking up on her every now and then ever since they had found out about her past. It was sweet, really, and she enjoyed the gesture.

"I'm fine," she said to Emily. "Don't you have someone else to be with?"

Emily's face changed from worry to surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Oh don't give me that, you know it was pretty obvious, once Reid, Rossi and Hotch had gone…"

"Me and Morgan?" Emily guessed. She grinned sheepishly.

"Yes! What… I mean, when did this happen?"

"When did what happen?" Emily asked, feigning confusion.

"You… you like him or something?" Usually she wasn't this clumsy with words, but for some reason she couldn't find the right words.

"He's nice," Emily said nonchalantly. JJ eyed her, she being the worried one this time.

"You know nothing can happen right? The fraternization rules, and Garcia…"

"What's with Garcia?" Emily said quickly. Too quick to pretend she didn't care.

"Well, they have this… bond," JJ said carefully. "It's pretty thick."

"Yeah, but it's only playful, isn't it?" Emily replied rhetorically, knowing what JJ was referring to.

"On Morgan's part it might," JJ said thoughtfully. "I don't really know much about him."

"It's more to Garcia?"

"I think it is," JJ said, careful again. She didn't want to betray her friend's secrets.

Emily, noticing the look on JJ's face, leaned forward and touched her hand.  
"Hey, JJ. He's fun to hang around with. Maybe he's fun to do other things with – I don't know. But I won't do anything if you –or Garcia– don't want me to. Hell, I haven't even figured out what _I_ want, much less what he wants."

This uncharacteristically serious speech from Emily soothed JJ's conscious a bit – she knew Emily was speaking the truth.

"Good," she nodded. "'Cause you don't want to know how many women out there would want to kill you for taking him off the market!"

"I know," Emily said, laughing. "He's pretty popular isn't he?"

"Yup," JJ replied. "You should put a sign around his neck with 'taken' on it. That way he might get… harassed less."

"He's not taken," Emily reminded her.

"Whatever," JJ yawned. "I'm sorry, I'm really beat. Mind if I go to sleep?"

"Why would I? It _is_ night, after all." Emily looked at her more closely. "Are you okay?"

JJ debated internally for a moment. Should she tell Emily? She knew she could trust her.

"I'm fine," she finally said. "I had a weird dream, that's all." _Weird_ wasn't exactly the right word for it, but she couldn't bring herself to say the right words. _Lovely_. _Addictive._

Emily eyed her again. "Are you-"

JJ cut her off before Emily could finish the sentence. "I'm fine," she repeated. "It wasn't a nightmare."

She left it at that. She really was tired, and they all needed their sleep. She looked towards the bathroom door demonstratively. Emily got the gesture.

"Okay," she said softly. "I'm going back down for a minute – Reid's really on fire tonight."

"Sure," JJ said, a teasing edge to her voice. "Have fun."

Seeing as fun wasn't exactly the right term for trying to solve a case, Emily caught on.

"I will," she said, and with that she left. JJ looked towards the bathroom door again, sighed and got up. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**_NO idea where that came from. I guess I've been reading too many fanfics. What do you think?_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hey, long time no see! It's too late to wish you a Merry Christmas. I can say Chanukah tov!, though that would be wrong Hebrew. But I am learning!  
But I digress. This is the third chapter, and I don't like to admit it but I'm stuck.  
I'm a bit further than this chapter, and I am just past a very important point, and everything I had in my mind can't be written down the way I wanted it to. It makes sense if you know what I'm talking about...  
So if anyone would be willing to help me, 'cause I'm not gonna say it here, I would be very, very grateful. And if you don't wanna help, well, review anyway! Lol. _**

* * *

JJ felt much better the next day, having had a good night's sleep, not disturbed by any nightmares.

When she entered the breakfast area, she saw that the entire team was already there. Had they let her sleep in, knowing she needed her sleep? Knowing Emily's mother instincts, she suspected it was the truth.

"Hey guys," she said, sitting down on the only chair left. "Sorry I'm late," she added, even though they had allowed her to be late.

"That's okay," Rossi said nicely, and she nodded. Then, noticing the light mood, she looked around. "What have we got?" she asked, thinking there had been a breakthrough.

"A suspect," Reid replied promptly. "Zack Adams, 34, lost his wife to the storm."

"If he lost his wife, wouldn't it make more sense if he only killed women?"

"Not necessarily," Hotch said. "It does not have to be that his victims remind him of his wife. He could be killing simply for revenge."

JJ nodded; that made sense. "So we've got him?"

"Lewis is on his way right now." Lewis was the local police officer. "We'll find the tools used for the murders in his home, and hopefully there will be blood that links him to the murders."

JJ nodded again, this time grabbing a muffin to eat. She usually wasn't that fond of big breakfasts, but she was quite hungry.

Rossi was right. All the tools used for the murders were found in Zack Adams' barn, and a quick DNA-test showed that the blood matched that of at least three victims. It would be a solid case in court. The case was over.

They flew back that afternoon. JJ felt a bit sorry, she would have liked to spend some more time in the Big Easy. The spirit of the city still surprised and calmed her strangely. Maybe the mood here was exactly what she'd needed after so much drama in her own life.

She sat around the table, in the chair closest to the window. The atmosphere in the plane was not as dark as other days; they had managed to catch the unsub before he killed more people. Still, JJ noticed a dark edge that had to do with the mirror that had been held in front of them. The lack of help from the government after Katrina was a sore spot in many government functions, and JJ could see that some people blamed themselves.

She didn't let that spoil the atmosphere, though. Instead, she played a game of cards with the entire team. Surprisingly, Hotch and Rossi had both joined in too, so that the table was now almost too crowded.

As usual, Reid won the first game. He was good with cards: always had been, with his combination of growing up in Vegas and mathematical skills.

After the first game, it became less and less about the game and more about the talking. These were the talks she enjoyed, JJ mused, as she listened to a case Rossi had been on a long while ago. The moments where pieces of their inner selves shone through the exterior armour most of them had built up over the years.

"So you _dated_ the woman in order to catch her?" Morgan asked disbelievingly, interrupting JJ's thoughts. "Is that even allowed?"

"It was, in this case," Rossi replied. "The ups were desperate to catch her."

"Makes sense," Morgan nodded. "What they want…"

The reference to politics made both Emily and Hotch tense, JJ noticed. She'd seen it before; almost as if they took anything relating to politics personal. She knew they both hated it.

A silence followed Morgan's words, but Hotch quickly broke it.

"I have arranged some time off for all of you, including you, JJ. Three days. I suggest you take your minds off the BAU."

"Really?" Emily asked, excitedly. "Great timing!" Today was Tuesday. Three days off meant they would have a very long weekend.

JJ frowned at her. Emily hardly ever let herself go. Emily, catching her eye, just smiled at her.

"What are you going to do?" Reid asked Hotch.

Hotch replied with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I'm going to try and get Jack for the next couple of days."

They all smiled softly. Hotch as a father just had a cute edge to it.

"What about the rest?" Rossi took after the questioning. "I mean, I know what _I_ am gonna do."

"But we don't all have our own cabin, Dave," Morgan replied smoothly.

"True," Rossi laughed. "But we all have our hiding places, don't we?"

JJ froze. It seemed like a personal comment.

"I think I'll visit Chicago. Haven't been there for a while."

"Good," Rossi nodded.

"I think I will do some reading," Reid piped up. "This case has piqued my interest in how a natural disaster can disrupt people's mental states."

JJ laughed; it was so like Reid to study when he had free time. "Sure, kiddo," Morgan said to him, apparently thinking the same thing.

"I'm going to _sleep_," Emily groaned. "God knows my bed hasn't been used enough."

"I can help you with that," Morgan said softly, but loud enough for JJ to hear. Emily merely smiled, not acknowledging his comment.

"I can't wait to finally watch that DVD I bought months ago," JJ mused. After solving a case in Tucson, they had been stuck in Arizona due to a storm. Emily and JJ had used that time to their advantage. JJ had never been much of a shopping girl, but Emily turned out to have surprisingly much knowledge of good movies. JJ had ended up with a dozen more DVDs than she'd intended.

"I promise you you won't be disappointed," Emily told her. "Whatever movie you'll choose, you'll like it."

JJ nodded. "I'm sure," she said, half teasing.

They lapsed into silence after that, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. JJ sat back, closing her eyes for a while: the flight would be at least two more hours. She might as well use the time to the fullest…

When she woke again, she was aware of the fact that everyone was looking at her before even opening her eyes. She always knew when people were watching her: it was a gift she'd picked up during her teenage years.

"What?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"No-nothing," Reid stuttered, obviously surprised. JJ opened her eyes.

"Okay, what did I say in my sleep?" Though she cringed on the inside, she kept her words playful.

"Uhm…" Reid started, not knowing how to reply. JJ furrowed her brow. What had she been dreaming about in the first place?

"You were asking someone to tell Sophie you couldn't come today because you were flying the flag," Emily said gently, looking her in the eye. She and Garcia were the only ones who knew that name.

"Oh." JJ rubbed her eyes. "Well, at least it wasn't embarrassing," she said sarcastically. _Damn_, she though. _Just what I needed._

"Are you okay?" Rossi asked her. His brown eyes looked at her with concern.

"Fine," she said, harsher than she'd intended. "I'm fine," she added more softly.

"If you say so…" Rossi trailed off, obviously not believing her.

JJ sat back demonstratively and closed her eyes. "I'm going to try get some more sleep," she said to no one in general. "Wake me up when we're landing, okay?"

JJ did not sleep any more. The simple words her team mates had exchange after she'd gone back to 'sleep' had kept her awake. They'd been talking about all sorts of random things, but sometimes their words would hit a bit too close to home. She knew they were trying to draw her out, but she simply did not want to comment on anything.

There was something going on; she could hear it in Reid's voice, but mostly in Emily's subtle tones. Being profilers, they thought they could hide it from her. After all, she was _not_ a profiler.

But she picked up on it anyway and wondered what it was that made them act differently. It wasn't the usual aftermath of a case, though this case had been quite gruesome: something more was going on.

But JJ was too drained to go investigate. Instead, she chose to continue her pretend-sleep, content with listening and day-dreaming.

Morgan woke her when they had landed and they all departed the plane, taking one last detour to the office. When they arrived, Hotch held her back for a moment.

"JJ."

He said nothing more, but he effectively got her attention. She turned around to him.

"Yes?" She was impatient; she wanted to go home and get the rotten smell of bodies out of her mind.

"I know you have days off, but I still need that file on the Detroit case." It was a gentle reminder, but she knew she needed to hand in the file. After everything that had happened after Detroit, the revelations and the exposure, she hadn't remembered to finish the file.

"I'll drop it off tomorrow morning," she said, nodding. Her free time wasn't going to be very free, anyway. Hotch nodded and held open the door for her, entering the building after her.

--

The day continued peacefully. Emily decided to go back to JJ's apartment to watch the movie she'd recommended earlier: _The Virgin Suicides_. Frankly, JJ didn't see the brilliance of the movie, but according to Emily, it was very revealing.

After the movie, Emily hung around a little, unwilling to go home. JJ didn't object, grateful for some company, but eventually Emily's fidgeting started to irritate her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked her friend, referring both to the conversation on the plane and Emily's fidgeting.

"Going on?" Emily asked, a confused look on her face. Confused, and ever so slightly caught.

"You've been acting weird all day," JJ explained.

"Oh…" For a moment, it looked like Emily didn't know what to say. "The case," she finally said.

"It's not the case," JJ said shortly. When Emily didn't reply, she sighed. "Nevermind."

"We just… It's… You'll find out," Emily said, her voice slightly pleading. "Just… you'll see."

JJ nodded, seeing she wouldn't get anywhere. "Want some more juice?" she asked, resting the subject.

--

After Emily had left, she took a long, hot bath, relishing the feel of the heated water around her. The hotel in New Orleans hadn't had a bath, and, to be honest, she hadn't really been in the mood to relax. But now…

Lying in the hot water, she slowly drifted off, her thoughts becoming less coherent with the second.

When she woke up, the water was cold.

* * *

**_Sorry if the phrases, particularly the 'flying the flag' one, aren't correct. I looked them up because I pretty much suck at English idioms._**

And the Virgin Suicides? I watched it the afternoon I wrote that part, mainly because AJ Cook was in it, and Hayden Christensen, though he had a significantly smaller role. I didn't really get the movie, either. I mean, I got the idea, but it didn't do much for me...


	4. Chapter 4

**_This is NOT an update. You should know I don't update this story anymore =P._**

**_No, I'm writing this to ask you something..._**

**_See, as I was reading a fic today a great idea came to me. Another Criminal Minds/Higher Ground crossover, and while I only have the basics so far and will not have time until at least the weekend after next, I really like it._**

**_Problem is, I have a problem with finishing fics, in that I never do. That was why I was so proud of 'Touch' - the first lengthy fic I managed to finish. I'm thinking maybe I can avoid that trap by not actually STARTING a new story, but rather continuing one in a different setting, if that makes sense. _**

**_'Meeting the Past' is not really going anywhere - I think I have part of a next chapter written out, but it's been like half a year, or something. I am not very passionate about this story anymore..._**

**_I was going to have JJ meet again with Peter and, I believe, Sophie... next chapter would be the actual meeting._**

Now, though, I'm wondering if I can close off that part of the story - the part that is clearly a sequel - and continue with the idea I mentioned above. I have no idea how long it will last, if at all - but I'd like to try.

**_So what do you think? Do you want to see THIS story continued or not?_**

I should add that if I do continue with the new idea, I won't just start out of the blue. I will make some kind of bridge between the two parts - it'll be hard, but I'll really think about it, if I ever have the time these coming weeks.


End file.
